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Mounting concerns are present about the chance of armed conflict among East African countries, the Ethiopian government and Eritrea, as confrontational language has intensified in the past few weeks.

What Did Ethiopia Said?

Ethiopia's, being landlocked, calls for passage to the sea coast through Eritrean territory has triggered a fierce war of words.

PM Abiy Ahmed initially stated publicly in the previous year that his government's sea access was an crucial concern, remarks that Eritrea rejected.

Ties between the neighboring nations have often been tense. Following a decades-long fight for sovereignty, Eritrea, which has a 1,350km (840-mile) sea border, officially seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, leaving it landlocked.

In 1998, a border war started in which numerous people died.

Latest Remarks from Ethiopia's Government

Prime Minister Abiy and army chief the army commander have directly stated ownership of Eritrean coastal city of the port of Assab – about 60km from the frontier - and suggested the desire to capture it through military means.

Recently, Abiy said the country's "blunder" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean independence would be "rectified soon".

Ethiopia's ambassador to neighboring Kenya, former General Bacha Debele, said that the port was "Ethiopia's wealth" and would be returned "through military action".

Eritrean Response to the Statements

Amid persistent warnings from Ethiopian officials, Asmara's position has been confined to brief comments on social media from Information Minister Yemane G..

The minister has dismissed Ethiopian requests for maritime entry calling it "dangerous" and a "negative policy" of "irredentism" – a approach of reclaiming former lands.

Government spokespeople warned on recently that efforts to legitimise "obvious provocation" would have major implications for Ethiopia and its neighbouring countries and is a "redline that should not be crossed|violated|breached".

Defense Preparations on the Ground

So far, there are no reports of significant troop deployments in the frontier regions between the two countries.

Nevertheless, in Ethiopia, state television has broadcast graduation ceremonies of thousands of cadets at various military training camps.

The head of personnel division of the defense force, the officer, commented lately in an interview that the defense forces was in a "reliable position" as "tens of thousands of youths" were enlisting, which he said was "a signal to our enemies".

Past Origins of the Conflict

For more than half a century from the late 19th century, Eritrea was governed by Italian colonisers.

After World War II, it was then managed by the British administration before turning into a federated part of Ethiopia.

But in 1962 the ruler terminated this arrangement and the region became completely integrated into the Ethiopian state.

A extended internal conflict ensued, finishing with the government's loss in the early 1990s. Independence was then approved by voters in a plebiscite in 1993.

For a few years in the 1990s, there were positive ties between the authorities in Ethiopia's capital and Eritrea's capital, but they clashed over the exact location of their common border, resulting in hostilities in 1998.

Although this concluded in a peace deal in 2000, it was never fully implemented, and the neighbors continued at loggerheads.

This changed in 2018, when Abiy made overtures to Eritrea's leader President Isaias. The two endorsed a statement that the hostilities was over – a decision that earned Abiy the prestigious award.

The two governments were then partners in the country's recent internal conflict in the northern region.

However relations have since broken down once more.